As everything, art has changed quite a bit over the last 2000 years. From the peaceful landscapes of Monet to the abstract mind of Picasso. From the brilliant bronze work of Donatello to the almost lifelike works of Michelangelo. But few would ever consider that meticulously made ivory Bible covers carved with a story of Jonah and Noah to be art. But the Kimball Art Museum not only had the rare book covers on display, they had the only known collection of early Christian art to ever be displayed in one museum. I am almost ashamed to think that when I walked through the exhibit entrance, I was expecting to see paintings and statues. But what I found were lamps, coins, jewelry, and coffins. Yes, you heard correctly, the most wonderful display of coffins that were carved with stories about the life of Jesus, and the fall of man in the Garden. Most of the art was dated to the late third and forth centuries, not only because Christianity took awhile to catch on, but also because many of the early Christians felt that engraving, painting or carving even Biblical scenes or statues was paganistic. It is no surprise that most of the items are dated to a time when Constantine was in rule. As the Christians became more powerful and wealthy they commissioned professionals to make beautiful pieces of art for the temples and palace. The Coffins that were created were very common in that time, and soon the Christians felt comfortable enough to bury their dead in way that seemed ritualistic and pagan. Though rare and beautiful, it is not the golden or jewel laden art the you see in many cathedrals in Europe today. But like the early Christians, their art also had humble beginnings. I am extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to see such a fine collection all in one museum. And though my little daughter may not think so today, one day I hope she will say the same thing.
The following is an excerpt from an article in American Spectator, written by Doug Bandow who is a former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and the author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics
* Last year in Turkey five Islamic extremists bound, tortured, and killed three Christian religious workers.
* In Malaysia the nation’s highest court ruled that a Christian convert could not change her official religious affiliation without a ruling of apostasy in Sharia court — punishable by death or prison.
* Earlier this year Christian converts in Bangladesh were beaten and expelled by Muslim villagers.
* Last year in Sudan demonstrators demanded death for a British teacher — convicted and then deported — for allowing her students to name a teddy bear “Mohammed.”
* In 2006 the Afghan government, which survives only because of allied military forces, sentenced a Christian convert to death, before allowing him to emigrate for reason of “mental illness.”
* In Nigeria last year a Muslim mob murdered ten Christians, injured scores more, and destroyed nine churches in response to a claim that a Christian student drew a cartoon of Mohammed on the mosque wall at school.
* In Iraq in early March the body of kidnapped Chaldean Archbishop Paulus Faraj Rahho was discovered. Up to half of the prewar community of 1.2 or so million Iraqi Christians have fled abroad.
So it goes throughout the Islamic world. Not every Muslim hates Christians, Jews, and members of other faiths. And no, not every Muslim country persecutes religious minorities.
But pick any persecuting nation at random. There is a good chance that it will be Muslim, even if it is formally allied with the U.S. government.
YOU WOULDN’T KNOW that from the Western reaction. Right now, talk of interfaith dialogue and Muslim persecution is in the air.
Last November more than 300 Protestant leaders publicly asked for forgiveness for Christian sins against “our Muslim neighbors.” Vatican officials and Islamic leaders have been meeting to plan an interfaith summit. President George W. Bush recently named a special envoy to the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is dedicated to combating “Islamophobia.”
Fine. But the first item on every agenda should be the fact that most Islamic nations persecute their religious minorities. (Read more …)
On Wednesday we will be building upon our discussions of church & state, Islam, accuracy-honesty-understanding, & Christian Jihad and will be discussing the Crusades and the ethics of war.
I contemplated using the following video to start the discussion, but some of the images are very graphic and would be too much for some of you. I post it here because I think it adds a dimension to our discussion which we have not yet engaged, however, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER NOT WATCHING IT if the sight of graphic violence would negatively affect you. Personally, watching this video made me physically ill for several hours.
Check out this article on Church and State issues and let me know what you think.
Here is an excerpt…
“Anglicanism and Islam were both founded by men who wielded total power. Under Henry VIII, politics swallowed religion. Under Muhammad, religion swallowed politics. Consequently, Anglicans struggle to defend their religious identity against a political agenda and Muslims struggle to defend their political rights against a religious agenda. Roman Catholics believe that the boundary between religion and politics is no less essential than the bridge.
In his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice … cannot prevail and prosper.”
The State has sovereign authority in the temporal sphere. The Church has sovereign authority in the spiritual sphere. The Church, as a body, realises that she must not identify herself with a political party, or devote herself to any political programme. Christianity cannot be an ideology. But while Church and State are autonomous, they remain interconnected because the most fundamental influence shaping every human culture is its understanding of God.
Here is another passage from the book from which I read on Friday; The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age
“The notion of historical change compels and vexes me. I am not so much interested in this war or that treaty or invention, although obviously these are critical factors. What I brood about has more to do with the phenomenology of everyday life. How is it that the world greets the senses differently–is experienced differently–form epoch to epoch. We know about certain ways in which the world has changed since, say, 1890, but do we know how the feeling of life has changed? We can isolate the more objective sorts of phenomena, cite improvements in transportation, industrial innovations, and so on, but we have no reliable access to the subjective realm. When older people sigh and say that “life was different back then,” we may instinctively agree, but how can we grasp exactly what that difference means? . . . . I am not in search of private sensation, but of a kind of understanding. I want to know what life may have been like during a certain epoch, what daily living may have felt like, so that I can make a comparison with the present. Why? I suppose because I believe that there is a secret to be found, a clue that will help me to solve the mystery of the present.”
My name is Rafael Moura and I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sao Paulo is a very populated city. It is the second most populated city in the world. I moved here to the United States about a year and a half ago. I did live here before when I was four years old because my dad came here for his masters at Dallas Theological Seminary. I went back to Brazil when I was eight and lived there ever since. I am loving my time here in the U.S. It is very different from back home. It is weird to be so far from the beach and the food is very different as well. It has been nice meeting new people and being in a different place.
I suppose it’s about time I finally put up my biography…wow, I’m bad.
I have two older brothers. The oldest is 10 years older than me, and he and his wife are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year! They have 4 children (Adam – 8, Jasmine – 5, Andrew – 3, and Michael – 1). Ther had another child, Joseph, after their first, but he died within a few hours of being born. Fortunately, we had known throughout the pregnancy that this was going to happen, so it wasn’t a surprise. My other brother is 3 years older than me. I love my family, expecially the kids!! I love being Aunt Stephanie!! 
So my aspiration is to be a worship leader. I don’t know in what area exactly God wants me (women’s ministry, children’s ministry, or the main leader), but I feel I have no other option but to use the talents He has given me to serve and glorify Him. For this reason I am getting my BA in Music with a concentration in Worship. (I feel like I’ve just applied for a college or a job)
God bless!
~Stephanie Brannon
In the past few weeks I have been captivated by this website:
http://www.godisimaginary.com/
In what I can’t say is the most rational or reasonable attempt to “disprove” God’s existence, this website includes an off sprint Atheist of Sam Harris making, what he feels, are authentic positions to show how imaginary God is. At first I took the stance that the website was nothing more than an attention hungry Atheist struggling with a personal question of God’s existence. After extensive study of the author and the website, it can clearly be seen that this young Atheist is not only troubled, but confused by the hundreds of thousands that flock and gather at what is organized religion. There doesn’t seem to be a desire to understand God, merely crush Him.
http://www.medievalplus.com/art-history/
Here is a cool website that deals mainly with the cultural aspect of the Middle Ages.
Here is a website for laughs.
